If the proposal is approved, then entry to the EU may open for those who are vaccinated with the Chinese vaccine. For those vaccinated with Sputnik V, the EU will open the borders after the drug is approved by the WHO
The European Commission has prepared amendments to the recommendations on travel to the European Union, now it proposes to open the borders for those who are vaccinated with WHO-approved vaccines. These amendments must be approved by the EU Council for entry into force, in which case they should work from January 10.
Now tourists can cross the border of the European Union with a certificate of vaccination with a drug that is approved by the European medical Regulator (EMA). If the EU Council allows the entry of tourists who have also been vaccinated with WHO-approved vaccines, they will be able to do so if they have a PCR test in addition to the vaccination certificate. The vaccination itself must be done no later than nine months before crossing the border.
Russians vaccinated with the V Satellite will not be affected by this innovation. The Russian vaccine has not yet received WHO approval. Currently, vaccines from AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are registered in the European Union. The Chinese vaccine Sinopharm is not on this list either, but it received approval from WHO in May, which, if amendments to the recommendation are adopted, will close the entry of vaccinated with this drug into the European Union.
The EU Council also proposes to allow entry into the European Union on covid certificates issued in countries outside the Union, if they correspond to the format of the European electronic certificate (EU Digital COVID Certificate). For example, the EU already has agreements on mutual recognition of covid certificates with Ukraine and Turkey.
“With respect to visitors from countries where there is no such equivalent, EU member states can continue to accept evidence of testing and vaccination issued by non-EU countries in accordance with their national legislation, taking into account the need to be able to verify their authenticity and validity,” the message says. According to the rules for the use of covid certificates in force in the European Union since the beginning of July, European countries can independently decide at the national level whether to admit or not vaccinated with vaccines not recognized in the EU.
In addition, as stated in the new version of the recommendations, children aged 6 to 17 years should be able to cross EU borders with a negative PCR test done before leaving, even if they are not vaccinated.
The European Commission proposed to open the borders for vaccinated with WHO-approved vaccines back in May, before the launch of the pan-European system of covid certificates, but this proposal did not work at the level of the entire union.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) submitted an application to WHO for accelerated registration of the V Satellite in October 2020. The chief researcher of the organization, Sumiya Swaminathan, admitted that the drug could be approved by the end of 2021. The process of approval of the Russian vaccine “Sputnik V” in the WHO is still ongoing, it was resumed on October 20 after a break.
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